Rite of passage parenting: Wonderfully made

I believe every child is created gifted and unique. Let me rephrase that: I believe every person, including you, is uniquely made. You have a particular God-giftedness installed within your very makeup.

The Bible is full of people who discovered their giftedness. Some used it wisely, while others let it waste away. Nehemiah had a gift for organizing people. David had the gift of praise and worship. No one would have guessed Noah had a gift for building boats. But God knew, because He designed Noah and all the rest.

In Psalm 139:14, David reminds us that the Creator of the universe has individually crafted each of us: “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

My youngest son, Caleb, has a gift I like to call “creativity.” I can already see that this creative tendency has been passed down to my grandson. Not long ago, Titus took apart the rubber floor mats in his playroom. Next, he stacked them to create a mountain with an incline so he could run up and jump off it. The words “Like father, like son” came to mind.

We first noticed his dad’s gift when he was somewhere between the ages of four and five and sold free apartment guides to residential homeowners in our neighborhood for 25 cents apiece. At that same age, he went door to door offering cockroach extermination service for the same low price.

After stepping on one of these bugs for his mom, he came up with the bright idea that if she couldn’t take care of this task, other moms might need help, too. So he took the smashed cockroach, put it into a small glass jar and asked us to type up slips of paper with his name and our telephone number.

He then went throughout our neighborhood showing his sample to the lady of each house. For 25 cents, she could buy his contact information and attach the slip of paper to her refrigerator.

When she saw a cockroach, she was to call him, and he would come over, stomp on it and haul it away. You would be surprised at the number of homeowners who bought a free apartment guide and the telephone number for a cockroach stomper.

Caleb’s creative ability continued to manifest itself as he grew older. My wife and I were on our way to his third grade parent/teacher conference when the school nurse met us in the hall. She asked us, “How is your son’s diabetes?” We thought she had the wrong parents.

As we questioned her further, she told us that ever since our youngest son had been at the school, he would come in every so often and complain that his blood sugar had dropped dangerously low. He would ask for a spare candy bar and eat it while lying on the cot in her office. “Lately,” she told us, “these low blood sugar episodes are becoming more frequent.”

We finally had to tell her that our son didn’t have diabetes, just an unholy hunger for candy bars. Did you know God healed him of diabetes the very next day? Miracles never cease.

I want you to understand that your child also has a unique gift. As a parent or grandparent, consider it your job to help them discover what it is and how they can apply it to enlarge the Kingdom of God.

I can already hear some of you saying, “You’ve never met my child.” You’re right. But I have met your child’s Creator, and I know He doesn’t lie when He says your child is “fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Could it be the reason you haven’t discovered your child’s giftedness is because you haven’t found your own? Or maybe a long time ago, you discovered something that would make your heart soar, and a misaligned adult convinced you it was silly? I knew a teenager once who dreamed of becoming a dancer, but the adults in her life convinced her the idea was foolish, and she never danced again. To this day, an important part of her is missing.

Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, may today be the day you leave your chair and embrace your God-giftedness once again. If it is to dance, dance to the glory of God. If it is to sing, sing to the glory of God. And if it is to hustle candy bars from the school nurse, let’s find another way for you to use your creativity. When you and your children discover how you are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” you’ll know why the Creator finds joy in His creation. Take time to celebrate . . . with Him.

Translator

Messenger Staff

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